CHAPTER 1: Mr Eldridge
597 Words
Antabelle Abbey 1898 Ferdinand Indiana
I Georgiana Marie Remington or Georgie as my friend like to call me, wanted nothing more than to disappear into nothingness.
The air around the Abbey seemed heavier than usual with the disappearance of my friend Nan.
Annie Mary Herse was a sweet natured soul who always made me smile with her kindness. She was the greatest friend. No, sister I ever had.
When I first met Nan I was shy and unwilling to talk to anyone. All the girls would tease me for my unruly hair and dirty stalkings. I was nothing but an unwanted rat that had infiltrated the walls of this all girl school. Each girl came from a family of wealth, while I was passed from family to family. An Unwanted orphan.
Yet Nan never saw me like that. She would complement my intelligence and ambition to prove myself amongst these snobbish girls. Every morning she would help me braid my hair and plate it.
In the evenings we would tell each other secrets and stories. We would talk well into the late hours what we would do for the future. Nan wanted to travel as a missionary and see the world. I wanted to teach in the slums and help underprivileged children get a basic education. Both of us wanting to save the world in our own way.
She was my angel.
Now she was gone. And it was all my fault. It has been three months and still that night haunts me. The other girls go about their business as usual never speaking a word about the young girl who suddenly disappeared without a trace.
The Nuns didn't allow us to even speak her name. I still had the scars on my hands from where Sister Mary Rose used a switch on them. I knew she wanted to tell me something that night. If only I had done something more but I knew as I walk pass the Abbesses table for breakfast Mother Superior stared me down like a bug she could squish beneath her shoe. If I was not careful, I would be the next to disappear.
I was startled by the door to the classroom suddenly opening.
In walked our history teacher Mr Robert Jensing. He was of rounded stature and haggard appearance.
A small copper flask was his constant companion in his right coat pocket. The poor man had seen the evils of the world fighting on the losing side of the Civil War.
He stood in front of his small desk and turned back to door and gestured someone to come in.
In walked a man or boy it was hard to tell his age but he was defiantly young. He had dark brown hair and a slight frame but his eyes. Oh his eyes were the most beautiful Crystal blue I have ever seen.
I felt a nudge on my shoulder and turned to look at my seat mate Danielle. She wiggled her eyebrows in a suggested manner indicating her interest in the younger gentlemen.
I rolled my eyes at her and brought my attention back to Mr Jensing
" Ladies we have a new member of our faculty I would like to introduce to you."
The young man stepped forward his eyes scanning the class as if he was searching for someone. Then his eyes landed on me and sharpened like a knife. I felt a shiver rundown my spine as he held my gaze. Just as if the glare was there it disappeared and a smile spread across his face and he broke eye contact.
"This is Mr Matthias Eldridge. He will be assisting me with some of your lessons and eventually take over as your new instructor." He wiped his brow already sweating from the heat of the morning.
"Mr. Eldridge would you like to say something about yourself." Mr Jensing stepped aside and turned around, taking a swig from his flask most likely, then plopped down in the seat behind his desk.
Mr Eldridge cleared his throat.
"Good morning ladies it is all very nice to meet you and I'm sure we all get better acquainted soon. "
His voice, oh my lord his voice was like silk. It was the most pleasant thing I have ever heard in my life. The other girls agreed to as they leaned in closer to listen.
"Fresh meat." I looked at Danielle as she openly undressed the man with her eyes.
Mr Eldridge cleared his throat obviously he heard the comment and was red in the ears for it.
"I have just recently graduated from Harvard University and have been wanting to take a teaching position for a while. I hope I can learn from you as much as you can learn from."
"NOW!"
He smacked the desk with excitement startling Mr Jensing who started drift off.
"Lets Begin..."
- Writer
